Basic Web Design Tips
This is a little guide on basic web design tips for those who are just starting out, or webmasters who perhaps may have overlooked a few of these simple but important points.
Their are many types of different web design software programs available (free or paid) to help you get your graphics done, or you could do it yourself, or hire me to do it (shameless plug, sorry). Graphics are very important, but not the whole enchilada. Now, onto the rest of the recipe-
- Planning - You have to have an idea for the website. This is an obvious one, but sometimes people jump right into the web design process blindly. Are you trying to sell something (goods or services)?. Is your web site going to a source for information? Personal blog? I like to jot down a blueprint on paper first. No, you do not need an engineering degree.
- Eliminate Scrolling as much as possible. People have short attention spans, that's no secret. I would be surprised if one third of my visitors made it this far. Use a nice compact design, and try to capture your audience with some compelling text right off the bat. If a web page is going to be too long, break it down into other smaller pages.
- Menus - Use a nice , clean header and menu bar. Try not to jam too many categories into your web design on the menu bar. If needed, make a pull-down menu for sub categories, so your menu bar fits nicely below your header or below.
- SEO - A couple tips on search engine optimization. I will compose a more comprehensive SEO guide in the future, but here are some simple SEO tips you can use during the design process. Always use your keywords in the URL of a page. Embed the keyword phrase you are targeting in the ALT image tag of any images. (I did that on this post by the way.) It's also a good idea to have your keywords in a <h1> heading tag, which I also did here.
- Have fun. If you are not having fun and looking at web design as a chore, you will not succeed. Believe in yourself and enjoy what you are doing.
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